Air conditioning apparatus



Oct. 4, 1949. A. A. SODERMAN 2,433,509

AIR C( J NDITIO NING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 11, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I p 34. I

I 45 fihml lm/ I K [5 4a INVENTOR.

Oct. 4, 1949. A. A. 'SODERMAN AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. ll, 1947 1 ,INVENTOR. @154: a: 5am

FTTO'QNEV Patented Oct. 4, 1949 1,.a23'1llaims. a 1 'My invention-"relates' toair-""con(iiti'on'ir g ap- -*barati'1s *of the-"- type" employing water *for both ecommend cleaning the ai'r. Such apparatus employsair'filtering element in' th' form of perforated= pads"ormetalor wood 'shaivings, -and a '-*pump-"*fdr*delivering water to jthe fiItei'mg elements so that as the air is filterd it-is also cooled.

In high temperatures and low humidity-eli- "dnates-Where alkal'ine water"is'so prevalent such a type or apparawe presents many' dfec'ts and "rlisadvanta'ges:'" Because j of the" filtering -elefi'n'e'fits; they soonbgcOirletlogged or so containi- "nated -with the' alkali fdpdsit's *an'd other rnatter asto becomeuseless or to-"rqiiii'e' frequent clean- Even before the filtering" elements *reach f tlie'sestag'es" -'ofi1'i'lu'sfnlness the alkaline 'c'ontentof-"theWater soon-w coats the elements that tne air' in' its-passage-therethrough itks'u ton- -"si"derable"moisture*and thus' becomesso saturated "aqueous vapor" that as finally discharged *fromtlfe apparatus-the airfis extremely damp L and," hence;"i1ighly iindesirab1e;-=Al-so, the" pump pai'ts"acctifinilate alkali depositsnecessitating rrequentpart-'repiacements. "fIt' is .a'purpose' of myinventio'n to provide an faircondltioningapparatusfin Whichthfiltering 'elements'an'd theattendantiiisaavantages ame- "saidi-areentirlyeliminated-andthe-airasfi'nally discharged from the" apparatusy'is cooled and thoroughly *cleanedpywaterj and yet devoid of :mofstdre. g r" "Itis'a1so a-pnrpose ofmydnventiontoprovide famair"conditioning*"apparatus"inwhichone iise "ofa rotaryprreciprocating Water *pump-is'avoided and itsidisadvantageseliminated, the watermmy apparamrtem "impelled by a device without parts on whieh alkali or other matter can accumulate torender the 'dvice'ir'ioperative, or to :me nir'repiaceinent or itszparts. I

I will describe only one form-lof aimconditioning apparatus:embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims. in -theaccompanying-drawings: 1 saview-show-ing in tofi plan, tionof 'the -"top-easing-brokenaway, on'e form of air conditioning apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a. vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view with the side casing wall removed.

With specific reference to the drawings, my

withaipor- -'--apparatus -in*itspresentenibodiment 'comprises a i'ectangular "casiIIg C- made up 0f" a tram and plates constructed =and-=arranged to prov-idleto the Wall I'Vandth'e "artiti on iii/and engaging M "tuouscontour' transversely from endto end,"to provide "a pluralitro'f wallsor facets 31 and the jseveralabaffiesare spaced in parallelism vertically was Willfbe seen from "Fig; 3'this"'trough"eiztends "across the lower ends 'of' 'all of 'thepa'ssag'es F32, and Well" in advanceof'the loajfiles"'31).Ihat part of thetrough directly below thebafiles'isspann'ed "and thu's'provid araina 'ror'watr fallingthereon: Inadditiofitheplateisformed"with aim-fini- .plicit y.of small openings 36 so""that"water can itpass" downwardl tinto" the" trough; and 'yet Ilittle ifany'mri wil :p'ass; thioll'ghtlie pmteiwhen the apper-ates issoperatin I "Air is admitted? to i thetcompartmentf zn in advance of lthballl'es fllithioiig e'nan nlet op Zing '31 formed inC'the" frbrit'iiitzll "I amrs ibstan- "45? rtially coextensive iniareawitl'itliat 'Gfthe bailis. Water is 's upplied'tothetroiigh'T"fr6iiiapipe 38 (see Figs. 1 and 3) having a valve 39 controlled by a float 40 to maintain the water in the trough at a predetermined level so that a water 50 impelling member 4| will operate continuously to throw water upwardly into the path of air entering through the inlet opening 31 and before it reaches the bafiles 30.

The impelling member 4| may be in the form 55 of a roller fixed to a shaft 42 journaled in bear- 3 ings 43, and connected at one end by a universal joint 44 to a second shaft 65 journaled in a bearing 45 depending from a bar 41 (see Fig. 4). To the shaft 35 is fixed a pulley d8 around which is trained an endless belt 69. The belt is also trained about a pulley 50 fixed to the shaft 5| of a motor 52 secured to bars 53 in the bottom of the casing. The motor is located in the compartment 23 which is open to the compartment 22 so that it may be connected to drive a blower 54 of the squirrel cage type located in the compartment 22.

The motor shaft 51 is provided with a second pulley 55, and the blower shaft 56 with a pulley 51, an endless belt 58 operatively connecting the two pulleys.

The blower 54 has a side air inlet 59 (see Fig. 1) which registers with an opening Ell in the partition 25, and a peripherial outlet Bl which registers with an opening in the back casing wall l8.

Thus the blower inlet 59 is in communication with the compartment 21, to draw air therefrom and discharge it to atmosphere through the outlet 6|.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Under operation of the blower 54 air is drawn into the casing C through the inlet 31 passing horizontally through the passages 32, and thus the air is divided into a multiplicity of streams with each stream caused, by the angular facets 3i, to describe tortuous paths. After traversing the passages 32, the air moves through the compartment 2| and into the blower '53 through the inlet 59, from whence it is discharged from the casing through the blower outlet Bl.

Concurrently with the above described air flow J as produced by the blower, the roller M is driven in a clockwise direction as when viewed in Fig. 3, and under such rotation, water from the trough T is impelled upwardly in finely divided form and into the pa 3; of the incoming air, as indicated by the arrows. As a consequence the finely divided water is thoroughly intermixed with the air in its movement toward the baffles 30, and the water being at a temperature considerably lower than the air, the air is thus cooled. This cooling operation continues in the movement of the air and water into the passages 32, but because of the tortuous form of the passages as provided by the bailles, the water particles are caused to strike the facets successively and are thus precipitated from the air and downwardly between the baffles, and finally into the trough through the perforations in the plate 35.

By reason of the many facets provided by the bafies the air as it finally leaves the bafiles, is practically devoid of moisture content, and, hence, as ultimately discharged from the casing is cool and dry.

Because of the vertical arrangement of the baffles and the construction of the water impeller, any solid matter contained in the water being employed, which accumulate on the surfaces of the baflles and the impeller, cannot reduce the conditioning eficiency of the apparatus to deliver air which is cool and dry. Little solid matter can accumulate on the surface of the impeller because of the centrifugal force produced by its rapid rotation, coupled with the fact that it is constantly being washed by the water in the trough. Also, the impeller shaft bearings 43 are remote from the trough, and by the use of suitable gaskets no water or solid matter can enter the bearings.

The solid matter accumulating on the baffles is ultimately drained onto the plate 35, but it can at no time interfere with proper cooling and dehydration of the air.

From the preceding description, it becomes manifest that my apparatus is admirably adapted for use in areas where the water has a high alkaline content, because regardless of the amount of alkaline or other content, operation of the apparatus is not impeded by accumulation of the water content on its parts, nor will any of its parts require replacement because 01 such accumulation.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of air conditioning apparatus, embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An air conditioning apparatus, comprising: a casing having an inlet and an outlet; means for creating air flow inwardly through said inlet to and outwardly of said outlet; a second means in the path of air flow in said casing for causing the air to define horizontally tortuous paths; a trough for water in said casing adjacent said inlet; and a roller in, said trough rotatable about a horizontal axis for projecting water upwardly into the air before it enters said second means.

2. An air conditioning apparatus, comprising: a casing having an air inlet and an air outlet; a blower between said inlet and said outlet for creating air fiow from the inlet to the outlet; bafiles in said casing constructed and arranged to divide the air flow into a plurality of streams and to cause each stream to define horizontally tortuous paths; a trough for water in said casing beneath said bafilles; and a roller in said trough rotatable about a horizontal axis and partly submerged in the water so that when rotated in a direction toward said baflles it will project upwardly into the air flow entering said passages.

3. An air conditioning apparatus as embodied in claim 2, wherein common means is provided in said casing for driving said blower'and said roller.

ARTHUR A. SODERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

